Google celebrates 50 years of ‘Flintstones’ with cool doodle

“The Flintstones” turns 50 and Google has just the doodle to give the cartoon its due.

A half-century ago today, we first met grumpy but lovable lug Fred Flintstone, his dim-bulb buddy Barney Rubble and so many other modern Stone Age denizens of Bedrock with the show’s debut on ABC. The first episode, called “The Flintstone Flyer,” aired Sept. 30, 1960, and saw Fred and Barney build a helicopter so they could hit the bowling alley instead of the opera with their wives. (How ’bout that prehistoric ingenuity?) Tons of spin-offs, merchandising and chewable vitamins later, this caveman take on “The Honeymooners” still shines as a beloved sitcom look at family life.